In this film spotlight, Angela Ferguson from the Onondaga Nation shows us how she creates food sovereignty in the heart of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Ferguson shares a bit of her story, her stewardship with the Carl Barnes’s Seed Collection and Braiding the Sacred, and the story of the Onondaga Nation farm.
Rematriation is a Haudenosaunee-led, digital storytelling platform connecting Haudenosaunee and Indigenous women across Turtle Island and around the world. They rematriate through Indigenous women-led, in person gatherings; online, Indigenous women-only spaces; and initiatives designed to educate the public and build allies.
Learn more about the Indigenous Women’s Voices video series from Rematriation Magazine that this film is a part of. Learn more about the Indigenous Women’s Voices Series on Rematriation Magazine’s website.
Braiding the Sacred, “a movement of indigenous corn cultures,” is a growing network of indigenous Corn growers coming together to sustain and share their traditional varieties of corn.
Learn more about the thousands of historical seeds preserved by the Onondaga Nation Farm in this article from Indian Country today by Scarlett Lisjak.
Below are some possible discussion questions after watching the video:
- How did you feel watching the video? With what/whom did you connect; why might this be?
- What do you think Angela means when she talks about restoring health with food?
- How can seeds be considered relatives?
- How do you connect with your elders? Your ancestors?
- How can gardening encourage community?
Indigenous Women’s Voices
Rematriation Magazine has centered the voices of 9 Indigenous women in a short video series that shares stories of resilience, leadership, spirituality and healing.
Raising Indigenous women’s voices through a media platform, Rematriation Magazine is helping to bring about global healing and shift human consciousness toward caring for the sacred life. The 9 part series features the Bear Clan Mother, Wakarekats:teh who speaks about spiritual leadership, Grammy Award winning musician Joanne Shenandoah who speaks about sacred healing, and global fashion icon Patricia Michaels who speaks about spiritual teachings held within fashion. Each woman shares a glimpse into her life, and how the teachings of being a sacred life-giver flow through her work.
Led by an all women, mostly Indigenous team, the series is directed by Katsitsionni Fox who is from the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. An award winning director for her film, Ohero:kon Under the Husk, Fox stays true to her story telling style of authentically lifting Indigenous voices and the significance of the natural world onto the screen. Produced by Michelle Schenandoah, from the Oneida Nation. Schenandoah is the founder and editor-in-chief for Rematriation Magazine and co-owner of Indigenous Concepts Consulting. Cinematographer and editor for the series is, Marie Cecile Dietlin, a documentary filmmaker who filmed Ohero:kon and Idle No More. Dietlin, Fox and Schenandoah also co-created the documentary, An Indigenous Response to #MeToo.
Rematriation Magazine is a multi-media e-magazine, by and for Indigenous women that takes the daily Indigenous led conversations about spirituality, decolonization, rematriation, land back, legal challenges and food sovereignty onto a national platform, while weaving together powerful intentions of Indigenous women to care for the land and future generations. The online magazine features Indigenous women powerhouses who are literally saving Indigenous communities from the social ills of colonization.
The video series advances a dialogue about the power of using voices and culture to empower and unite as one humanity. By shifting the narratives, the magazine shatters existing social and racial barriers presently fueled by stereotypes and hypersexualization of Native American women, a central cause to the systemic violence perpetrated against Indigenous women.
Indigenous women are the leaders for their communities, and have been since time immemorial, but colonization erased that history. By sharing personal stories and traditional wisdom through the lens of today, Rematriation Magazine’s film series furthers a dialogue about dismantling social injustice through a spiritually grounded lens. The spiritual groundedness is so subtle that non-Indigenous world has overlooked for generations. Now that the world has taken pause, it’s time to listen to the voice of Indigenous women and begin to understand a world view needed for the survival of humanity.